On Tuesday, August 18, 2015, Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary successfully arranged for the release of six former research horses from a truck headed for a slaughter house.

The six adult mares, all estimated to be 11-16 years old, had just been purchased at an auction late Monday night when Tamra Brennan, Kindness Ranch’s Executive Director, saw a Facebook post from a private rescuer. The woman had already taken two mares from the same auction, so Brennan immediately reached out to her to find out if there were any others. She was told that there were six more currently being prepared for shipment and they would likely be leaving first thing Tuesday morning.

Many horses bought at auction are then sent to slaughter houses in Canada or Mexico, so Brennan knew she had to move fast to save these girls. Working on Kindness Ranch’s behalf, the private rescuer rushed to track down the kill buyer who had bought the mares and offered to buy them back. At the same time, Brennan was working on securing transport to ensure that the horses could make their way to the ranch once they were released. An agreement was reached just in time on Tuesday afternoon and the horses were removed from the buyer’s truck and turned over to the rescuer.

The mares are currently being cared for at a trusted farm near the auction house in Missouri while they wait out a 30-day quarantine period. In order to move them out of the state, they must be quarantined and be inspected by a vet to make sure they are free of contagious diseases. There is no information available as to what kind of studies the horses were used for or where else they may have been before being brought to the auction house. What is known is that they are now safe, and that once they are cleared for travel, they will be taken to Kindness Ranch to begin their new lives.

Kindness Ranch is currently home to 14 other horses, in addition to dogs, cats, sheep, pigs, and cows. All of the animals at the ranch were once used in research, and many are made available for adoption. There is a small but hardworking staff, all of who live on site in order to provide the best possible care for the animals. Kindness Ranch is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.